Small businesses and mobile payment technology: What's out there?
Mobile payments are becoming more popular every day, and are changing the traditional relationship between business size and available markets on a global scale. Continued developments in the fintech industry are giving small businesses more exposure by simplifying complicated banking procedures, such as international money transfer, and helping to lower the bureaucratic barriers that have traditionally complicated trade.
Recently, Toast, a Boston start-up, raised $30m US dollars to develop its already-successful Android platform for online restaurant ordering. The rise of contactless payments continues to change the way buyers and sellers interact – is now the time for small businesses to get in on the mobile payment action?
Benefits
Tap-and-go tech, whether in the form of wearable payment devices or contactless cards, could make cash a thing of the past. This age of ‘borderless transactions’ has made it easy for small businesses (and consumers alike) to bypass bank and currency-conversion fees. Adopting mobile payment tech therefore translates to reduced costs for businesses and are underpinned by, lower prices for consumers.
Mobile payments are also becoming increasingly fast and hassle-free. China’s Alipay now supports facial recognition login, while other payment giants like MasterCard are already running a pilot scheme known as ‘Selfie Pay’ – users take a selfie to purchase an item, eliminating the need for signatures or pin numbers.
Risks
Cross-border transactions ultimately involve data exchange, from a consumer’s shipping address details to the information on their card. Demonstrating an ability to secure this information will be crucial to the continued growth of the entire fintech sector.
